Help needed - coral QT tank not doing well

[jsweir]

Mainly sps in it but a small amount of lps as well. 40 gallon breeder, with 4 T5s. Running a hang on back with plastic bio balls and filter floss. Tunze 6040 running across the top of the water and another small powerhead sweeping the bottom. Parameters salinity 1.026, dkh 8.4, ph 8.2 average, ca 400, mg 1650 last time I checked, nitrate 2.5, po4 0.0. Tank was doing great for a few weeks when the dkh started dropping. Tried dosing 2 part, but it clouded the tank and lost one sps instantly so switched to dripping Kalk. That seemed to work. Went through the typical diatom bloom, then some algae started creeping in. Dosed some P04 to bring up the levels, but the algae started loving that. So started fighting the algae with snails and blowing it off with a baster and filtering it out with floss. For the past week and a half, there seems to be a bacteria bloom in the water and I can't get it to clear. The algae is subsiding, but the coral PE isn't there any more and the sps have been dropping out with stn. Only thing I can think of to do at this point is a massive water change (but worried that may take some coral

out) and pick up a UV to help combat the bloom. Hoping that it might be an o2 problem with the bacteria sucking it out of the water. Also have a bag of carbon at the ready to run. Just looking for suggestions because it is painful each day to see which frags are lost. LPS don't have very much extension either. Appreciate any help! Pic is of the floss after running for a day - it is that dirty every day.

 

[jsweir]

Did a 50% water change and dropped a bag on carbon in the HOB. LPS seem to be opening up more, so maybe that is a good sign. I'll wait a few days and possible do another big water change.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening,

Sorry about the issue. I think you made some changes too quick, but sounds like you got the right choices now. UV and carbon to help get water clear. That will help keep O2 and your par up. Keep surface agitation up will also help. Maybe stick to small water changes to get #s stable.

How did you start dosing? Maybe need a plan to start up once you get the tank stable again.

 

[jsweir]

dosing by hand right now, but have a dosing pump on order. The drip kalk seemed to be working fine keeping alk stable, it was the bloom/cloudy water that I think is causing the problem. I'm leaving the phosphate stuff alone right now and planning on just doing kalk once I get past this.